Ladies

by Doris Grumbach

Book Overview

"A tale told in delicate brushstrokes of a relationship in which two hearts came almost literally to beat as one." Newsday In the late 18th century, Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby defied all conventions of their Irish homeland and eloped to Wales as a married couple. There, over many years, they forged a romantic paradise from a simple country cottage and a few acres of land. They called it "Plas Newydd" the New Place. Their home was filled with...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0525242635
• ISBN13: 9780525242635
• Release Date: September 1984
• Publisher: Dutton Books
• Length: 210 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A Historical Novel of a Lesbian Couple in 18th Century Ireland

This is a lovely historical novel about two lesbians in 18th century Ireland. They are totally devoted to one another and overcome all sorts of obstacles in order to establish themselves as a family unit on the 'Plas Newydd'. They are quite an eccentric pair. They are a classic 'masculine' (butch) and feminine couple. They entertain critics, writers, royalty, etc. in their home. The novel hypothesizes how a cultured couple such as Eleanor and Sarah would have intermingled with respected, wealthy and knowledgeable personages of their time. They are quite secure financially and never have to contend with poverty. The language is sedate and descriptive, evoking a clear picture of their lives without delving into the passion that is obviously one of their mainsprings. Grumbach mentions it but her style is 'literary divorcee' ' ' she is viewing their lives at a linguistic distance. "They had learned the lessons that made living together possible: to bear each other's failings with fortitude and to freely indulge their own without guilt. They grew more and more like each other. Their faults became common to them both, their virtues a kind of mutual feast that they celebrated together". (p. 180). This quote sounds like the description of any successful relationship that has weathered time and circumstance and still holds together strongly.

The Ladies

This is just a sweet old fashioned love story... a lesbian love story that is. I happened upon a hardcover copy in a used bookstore. The cover looked idyllic, pastoral... two ladies dressed in riding habits, surveying the english countryside. It is a story of the enormous risks they took to be together, and the creative life of beauty that they shared until death. I loved the descriptions of their daily lives... how they passionately strove for their own peaceable kingdom. They lived in an eden of their own makng. Please read this book and be inspired by their example to create your own heaven on earth with those you love...